The Development Of The Sailing Ship In The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries

SHALL endeavour in this chapter to conclude the narrative of the large sailing ship, all of whose sails, excepting her triangular lieadsails and the staysails an the new shape which we have seen the nrzzen take, are square, and carried athwart the mast. Neither the fore-and-aft rig, nor those hybrid developments of squaresail and fore-and-aft rig, will be considered until the following chapter, in order that our attention may not now be distracted and also that we may be able without break of continui .y, the story of that newer rig which had its origin during the sixteenth century.

In 1801 the Union Jack was modified by the introduction of a saltire for the Union of Ireland v: ith Great Britain. The white, red and blue admirals, with their corresponding ensigns, continued. Thus the Red Ensign had not become yet the exclusive use of the Merchant Service nor the White Ensign of the Navy, but all three colours were in use to indicate the rank and ilace of flag-officers. At Trafalgar we fought under the White Ensign 254

from the older form, presently to consider, solely. After the practice had grown up of the whole fleet, for the sake of convenience, Hying one colour, the three were in 1850 abolished, and the White Ensign became the colour of the Itoyal Navy.

One of the first war vessels to be laid down n the new century was the Caledonia, 205 feet long and of 261G tons. This was in the year 1802, but she was not launched until six years later. Carrying 120 guns she was a first-rate, and was based on the design of the Commerce de Marseilles, which we mentioned in the last chapter. There is a model both of the Commerce de Marseilles and of the Caledonia in the Royal Naval College Museum, Greenwich. The latter was broken up only as recently as 1907. Up to the beginning of the nineteenth century sh is of the Royal Navy were parted with blue upper woi s, bright yellow si les, and broad black strakes at the water! ine. The interior was generally painted red.* But Nelson had the hulls of his s ips painted black with a yellow strake along each tier of ports, but with black port-lids, and this chequer painting distinguished all men-of-war, both at Trafalgar arid after. White was soon ntroduced as a substitute for the yellow. This white band has survived to this day on many of our biggest sailing ships, and is well, seen in Mr. Charles Dixon's sketch of the four masted barque reproduced in Fig. 78.

Among the nmnations which came into use during the early years of the nineteenth century were the lifeboat and the prototype of the modern rocket life-saving apparatus. In 1774 Captain (afterwards Admiral) Scliank, while stationed at Boston, built the first craft that ever possessed a sliding keel. Tlrs invention was put into actual use by the English fleet during the wars in which our country was engaged at the beginning of the century. By its means those ships thus fitted were able to sail

* For tin purpose of not showing too prominently the,blood shed in "asualtic.3, closer to the wind without making so much leeway. They were made better on the helm, and they could take the ground with less possibility of damage. There is in the Greenwich Museum an excellent model of the 50-gun frigate Cynthia, fitted wiih these sliding keels in 17! >.

The strenuous years that formed the beginning of the new century in which England was constantly at war, gradually increased the size of her Navy to the enormous total of 644 ships which was reached in 1813. When we mention that at the beginning of the present year, 1909, the British Navy, including certain ships not yet completed, did not exceed 517 warships of all kinds, one can readily realise how great had been the extension of the fleet, and, in consequence, how ¿treat an mcentive to shipbuilding and the seafaring life had been given. But this number had as quickly diminished to 114 four years later, when the outlook of peace seemed blight and hopeful. In 1812 the unfortunate war broke out between the United States and Great Britain, and for another two years naval activity was renewed. What the rnmediate result of the American war had on the development of the sailing ship is not difficult to estimate. As regprds English shirbuilding, owing to the great success o the American ft'gates and their superiority to our own vessels, a sudden wave of enthusiasm swept over the British naval authorities for frigates. In the panic, this was pushed to foolish extremes, and bigger ships were cut 'own and converted into frigate-shape. In America, the bui'ding of frigates of such unusual size first called the attention of naval architects to the advantages and possibilities of large vessels. It was thus that the way was paved for the coming of the early clippers in 1851.*

• For further matter regarding the American frigates, the reader i; referred to " American Merchant Ships and Sailors," by William J. Abbot, New York, 1902

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